Is There Still Hope For American Education?

Education is a powerful tool that has continuously shaped the world throughout history. Many brilliant minds became the great individuals that they are because they learned from great teachers who shared everything they know to their students and helped them grow as a person. And the same thing applies to all the generations of learners in the world. From ancient times to our present day society, education continues to be the driving force that shapes the world as a whole, and the world’s interests.

In the world today, many nations look up to the United States of America not only because it is a strong and powerful nation but because it produces some of the best and brightest people in the world of business, the arts, and just about everything else. However, it all comes at a cost. Everybody knows just how expensive an American education is. Students accumulate a big amount of debt before they even graduate from university because tuition fee is expensive and they (their parents included) can’t just afford to put them to school without outside financial help.

President Donald Trump’s pick for the Department of Education’s second in command is a South Carolina army veteran and gun supporter, who has more education experience than his superior Betsy DeVos.

The White House said on Tuesday the president would appoint Mitchell “Mick” Zais as deputy secretary of education. Zais shares similar convictions with his boss, including support for parents choosing to send their children to charter, private or religious schools with public money—but there’s one main difference: he’s been doing it for more than 15 years.

He has held more education roles than his superior, DeVos, who has never served as an educator or worked in education. DeVos has faced criticism from senators and education leaders who have said she lacks the credentials to lead the Department of Education.

After President Trump’s unprecedented win of the presidency last year, things have definitely changed on how the country is run. Aside from the changes in policies and an uncertain future for the millions of Americans who did not believe in Trump’s capability of leading the nation to greatness, the cabinet secretaries will be replaced by the new president’s appointees. And as such, more policies will be changed on the corresponding departments that can affect the lives of every American on land. The public will also learn the priorities of the current administration but it seems that education is not at the top of its list.

“Due to last-minute scheduling issues that arose on both sides, Secretary DeVos’s study trip to Ontario has been postponed,” the U.S. Department of Education wrote in a statement Wednesday.

“Secretary DeVos looks forward to learning more about and highlighting the innovative and successful ways Ontario’s educational model is meeting the needs of students and families.”

A spokesman for Ontario Education Minister Mitzie Hunter said the government looks forward to welcoming DeVos “at a more convenient time to showcase our world-class, publicly funded education system.”

It was supposedly a chance for the education secretary to learn more about the Canadian public education system and find out what policies they can adapt to improve that of the US but no, she missed out on the chance for reasons many do not really believe in. Many are also doubtful whether the new appointee by President Trump as the second in command in the department can make much of a difference knowing that the one in lead has no idea at all about what she’s doing or perhaps does not care at all. After all, most Americans have noted by now how much she advocates in diverting federal funds into the private sector from the public hands. Too bad it’s the young Americans who are the future of this country who suffer the most from this mismanagement of government funding and they lack the education they need to ensure that the US remains on top of the world.